Prevalence and unique risks

Although random sampling methods have not been used, the experiences of harassment and sexual assault of journalists is well documented in a number of convenience samples (for a summary see Parker, Drevo, Cook, Slaughter, & Newman, Reference Parker, Drevo, Cook, Slaughter and Newman2014). As in other populations, women are at the greatest risk. These experiences ranged from sexist unwanted online or in-person comments on dress and appearance, sexually degrading jokes, and suggestive comments or sounds to sexual touching. Although the majority of sexual harassment of journalists occurs in the office, journalists experience the unique threat of sexual harassment and assault in the field. Journalists often hire security and interpreters for additional protection but, like coworkers and colleagues, even security details have been a reported source of sexual harassment. Journalism culture may also increase the risk of sexual harassment, as it often entails heavy alcohol use. This culture may increase the likelihood of individuals perpetrating sexual harassment against their peers. Understanding the frequency and sources of harassment within the field of journalism is important for contextualizing the training for this occupation.

Harassment versus intimidation

The public often uses the terms harassment and intimidation interchangeably to refer to unwanted behavior in the workplace. Both of these types of behavior fall under the larger umbrella of workplace incivility and are the specific concerns of organizational policies. However, in our work it became clear that intimidation should be distinguished from harassment for journalists due to the motives, typical perpetrators, and organizational responses to the behaviors (Newman, Drevo, Brummel, Rees, & Shapiro, Reference Newman, Drevo, Brummel, Rees and Shapiro2016). Whereas harassment may have multiple motives, intimidation is an attempt to prevent a journalist from effectively completing his/her job. Also, most intimidation occurs from people outside of the specific organization or collaborators of the journalist and is instead undertaken by the people who do not want the story to be completed. Finally, most harassment claims are designed to be handled by internal processes with a company or professional organization. Intimidation involves protecting the journalist from external threats using protocols and law enforcement. This issue has added complexity due to differences in laws in different countries and laws governing multinational organizations. Understanding the differences between these two distinct phenomena should have direct impacts on both policy and training to enable a workforce to be ready for both potential threats to journalists.

Online harassment

Journalists have a specific vulnerability to online harassment due to the frequency and necessity of their interaction with the public in their work. Female journalists are particularly vulnerable to online harassment, as perpetrators often target women whose work entails sharing opinions and/or information online. Harassed journalists may receive thousands of death threats, rape threats, and sexually explicit insults over the course of several days across multiple social media sites and e-mail platforms. Attacks can continue for months or years, effectively forcing female journalists out of the public discourse and out of their professions. Online harassment is a relatively new phenomenon and, as such, is not always addressed in trainings. The frequency and unrelenting nature of some forms of online harassment also require policy and trainings that differ from those in settings where online harassment may be more isolated and time limited.

Employment structure

Although many journalists work for a specific media organization such as a newspaper or television station, a substantial portion of journalists are freelancers, who work without a formal employment relationship, selling their work as independent contractors. However, freelancers often still work closely within the hierarchical power structures of these media organizations. Policies and training on sexual harassment and assault often fail to address rules for working with members outside of the formal organization. It is often unclear to whom, if anyone, a freelancer could report an issue. Additionally, the only obvious recourse for improper behavior would be to stop working with that organization. This does not prevent the situations from occurring, nor does it protect future freelancers from perpetrators. Further, depending on country of origin, few freelancers have healthcare benefits to help them with the physical and mental health outcomes associated with these experiences. The power structure within the field of journalism is also very hierarchical, with editors and other decision makers holding high degrees of power over whether and how prominently a journalist’s work is featured. These organizational decision makers have misused this power in a number of recent high-profile examples. Organizations with these structures have a heightened need for specific policies, training, and systems to prevent abuse.

Hostile environments

Journalists often do their work in potentially hostile environments. In recognition of the potential health and safety risks of these environments, many journalists are required to attend safety trainings prior to working in these environments. Often this is required by the companies insuring the media company. We conducted a survey of journalists who have attended these types of trainings to try to understand what is included in them and whether the trainings are perceived as effective (Slaughter, Brummel, Drevo, & Newman, Reference Slaughter, Brummel, Drevo and Newman2017; Slaughter, Newman, Brummel, & Drevo, Reference Slaughter, Newman, Brummel and Drevo2018). Although the results showed that journalists were satisfied overall with trainings, they also suggested a need for increased sexual violence and harassment trainings, increased digital security trainings, and a general increase in access and completion of refresher courses. Journalists reported the length and cost of trainings often made it difficult for freelance journalists to attend, and the content of trainings might fail to include information tailored to local journalists with needs specific to their locations; a journalist covering drug cartels in Mexico has different safety needs than a journalist embedded with Western soldiers in the Middle East or a journalist covering United States’ protests. Although hostile environment trainings should cover some core competencies, they should not be “one-size-fits-all” and need to better address the specific needs of journalists working in a variety of locations.

The evidence suggests that current professional training and workplace policies do not prepare journalist to handle work-related harassment or to fully protect their personal security. The preparedness measures offered focused on temporary high-risk environment training, check-in protocols, and traveling during late hours with bodyguards, chaperones, and drivers. Organizations are also responsible for providing information about the cultural contexts of various work locations, where behaviors that are innocuous in Western culture may be misconstrued (e.g., eye contact). These contexts often present unique challenges to female journalists who may benefit from a broader understanding of these cultures. Journalist-specific techniques have been created that take these risk factors into account (see Padawer, Reference Padawer2017a, Reference Padawer2017b; Parker et al., Reference Parker, Drevo, Cook, Slaughter and Newman2014). The use of journalistic-style training with prominent well-respected journalists and quick information and quick practical tip sheets appears to be well received.

Lessons for other occupations

Our experiences highlight the importance of needs analysis in training for specific occupations. We could not have guessed what the unique issues would be for journalists without our formal and informal interactions with them that were intended to understand their challenges around sexual assault and harassment. A training needs analysis framework is a useful approach for investigating a new occupation for training research or practice. Online harassment may be relevant for training other high-profile careers that require constant contact with the public such as writers, comedians, and politicians. A central lesson from our studies is that freelance journalists have unique risks and training needs. Many occupations are moving toward freelance or gig economy models that have similar problems with the availability of organizational structures that prevent and investigate harassment. As media organizations become more adept at protecting journalists from harassment, new techniques may be applicable to these other populations.